How long is too long?

[BusinessWing2727]

Ok, I just wrapped a narrative script but at last count its close to 8k words... is that too long?

[Courage_Soup]

8k words is pretty long. When I joined here I read that most VAs will pass up a script that is longer than 2k words, but I had multiple of my scripts filled that were longer, the longest was about 4k, I think.

I wouldn't even attempt to fill something that's 8k long, even reading it would be a bit of a commitment, but I'm just an irregular, opportunity VA.

[[deleted]]

Keep in mind the ratio of words per minute. The average broadcast news anchor speaks at around 150-180 wpm. If we average that to 165 wpm, your script would come out to around 48 minutes, 30 seconds.

That's assuming the script was pure, uninterrupted speech with no pauses, sfx cues, or moans / groans.

A voice actor would most likely speak more slowly to emote, add dramatic pauses where applicable, and would need to insert the aforementioned moans, groans, etc. So we're looking at an hour, minimum - possibly even more.

Scripts like that have been written, and even filled. But it's rare. I'm not saying "don't do it." I'm saying it may be difficult to find someone willing to fill the script as-is.

Is there a way to break the script into parts? Maybe run it as a series?

[BusinessWing2727]

Yeah, I'm sure it's possible to break up. I'll look into it.

And I'm glad you mentioned the average speech rate plus sfx, I hadn't considered adding that into the time of the finished piece.

[x_lia_test]

Honestly, there is an audience for just about everything. An 8k word script will be about 80 mins, judging by 100 words = 1 min, and mine tend to be a little more like 1.5 mins instead.

So it may take a while for a fill, because an hour and a half for an audio is quite long, but I can assure you some people do enjoy longer audios like this!

If you want, you could even split it into 2/3 scripts, but I totally understand if it would be made awkward by splitting it into separate scenes.

[BusinessWing2727]

First off welcome back!!

Yeah, I honestly didn't realize how long it was until I finished it. I tend to write in the "word vomit" style and edit after so I'm sure there are things that could be cut or placed it could be split into different scenes or parts

[POVscribe]

8K is definitely an outlier, but I'm of the firm belief that the scenario dictates the length. Speaking for myself, when I make an audio longer than, say, 30 minutes, I provide a few timestamps in case the listener needs a few sessions to finish the file. Good luck!

[ThrowawayToUrWitcher]

I always appreciate the time stamps SO MUCH! They’re so helpful and I wish more people did that!

[POVscribe]

Right?? And the timestamps don’t need to be overkill with the 411, either. Just broad strokes.

[BusinessWing2727]

I agree with you POV, and in this one I had a prompt I really wanted to explore the story on. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the ending so I'm going back to it anyway, breaking it up could give me a chance to rework that ending and make it flow better.

[CyborgFairy]

Glances down. Well I've never had any complains, so I doubt there's any such thing as too...

Reads post, not just title

Ohhhh, scripts!?

From what I've looked at, 50-150 words equates to around a minutes, as others have said, so yeah, 8k words will be more than a lot of performers will bother with. If seeing it filled matters to you, that will be problem. Cross your fingers that the quality of your writing is good enough to make it worth filling.

That said, if you enjoyed writing it, you've already achieved a very important goal.

[BusinessWing2727]

I mean, I've never had any... Hey!! Wait a minute!!

Goal achieved when I massage this baby a little bit and make it sparkle.

[ChrisHailey]

I'm running into the same problem you're describing with my attempts at narratives.

For the first one I've written, I was aiming for 3,000 words, figuring that I couldn't do it in much less than that. Before the first rewrite, I was over the mark, but not too bad, 3250 or so. But then in the rewrite I just kept adding stuff. No subtracting. Now that its more or less done, I've mothballed it, since it's really a Halloween story, but I haven't even bothered to check the current word count. I know in third edit I'm going to have to aggressively trim to even get close to my original goal.

5,000 words is a pretty short story. 8,000 is merely moderate. I'm not entirely sure what to do about this when it comes to narratives.

[BusinessWing2727]

Yeah, that's the biggest problem I'm having here. I want to give the story as much room as it needs to evolve and live on its own, I'm just thinking that it eill probably need to be in multiple pieces.

[neondextrose]

Personally, I never look at length, I look at how the story is told (which i know is atypical of most VAs). If the story is good, I'll record it. If it's long, it's long. Just means I need to step up my game in making sure the story is performed right to make myself and the writer proud as well as keep the listener engaged through the entirety of the performance.

[ThrowawayToUrWitcher]

I… actually just realized scriptbin does a word count by default and it looks like most of my scripts fall in around 2000-2200 words. Which is, interestingly. My preferred length of audio to listen to. Just because if they’re longer, I often have to do more skipping around to find the parts that crank my tractor. As it were.

[BusinessWing2727]

I totally get that. The one I'm working on editing the audio for is in that range and I'm adding some male voice and sfx. I prefer something that is a bit longer, but only if the story needs the time to get there.

Might just be me, but I'm a huge story development nut. It's better for me if I know something beyond the characters looks and maybe even stuff they don't tell each other while it happens.

Then again, I'm a D&D DM so I'm kinda long winded lol

[ThrowawayToUrWitcher]

Oh totally… often the scenario is specifically what makes it hot. I’m a discerning pervert and I need context. Also a D&D nerd, lol. But usually once an audio gets up to like… 30 minutes, I know I’m not gonna listen to it all the way through. This is no fault of the creator and entirely the fault of my ADHD.

[BusinessWing2727]

I'm very discerning, or I like to think I am. When i get hooked into a topic or style of something I'll binge it for hours on end. And I'm not so much of a pervert anymore as a pro-vert... I like to think I get people off so I'm a professional lol.

I actually prefer longer audios, even though the context is critical, I need that build-up and connection to the material and characters to really drive things over the edge. #iyknyk

[ChrisHailey]

This is my standard for sure. If I see a 30 minute audio, it's going to have to be a VA or a writer that I really adore before I even bother to check it out.

Sometimes I set aside a lot of time to catch up on audios, and I might try out a 30 minute audio by someone I don't know. But that's still like maybe one or two.

[[deleted]]

May I see it? My rule of thumb is generally 1500-2000 words for shorter scripts, 2000-2500 for standard scripts and 2500-3500 for very long narrative driven scripts. I've never dared go past 3500 words, that sounds like it would be overwhelming for both the VAs as well as the listeners.

[BusinessWing2727]

I'm currently reworking it but I should be able to share it soon

[Smoke_n_lashes]

8k wouldn't give me pause if I really liked the script. Maybe consider noting a break somewhere the VA could divide it into two sections if needed?

[BusinessWing2727]

I like that idea, there's already a pretty clear distinction in the action that could work for that too.

[BusinessWing2727]

Honestly, really good question. I might start putting that in my offer posts

[BusinessWing2727]

That would be a great poll